[Iskandar]

wow! that's some debut...hope the price doesn't go up after this...I call it, Winner's inflation

[CRG Asia]

That is amazing... This Kart may just be for real and here to stay. I'm afraid on how this will impact our karting industry.

[RocK]

They competed in their first race - finished 2nd and 10th in a grid of 32. 100cc karts btw.

where

[Mikko Nassi]

Australian F100 National Championship.

Remember though that this wasn't with the SQ-engine.. it was a professionally built 100cc engine, and also remember that this wasn't the cheap Sq-kart.. it had a few extra bits, namely a Tony Kart axle, rear hubs, front hubs, and rims... so you have to add a bit to the cost to get those bits. But this was racing against the best in Australia.

CRG Asia, why afraid? It can only be good - if they get more drivers in the sport what's there to be afraid of? Others have had the idea of a chinese built kart before - but only for recreational use... these guys are taking it to the racing market + recreational.

[RocK]

a guy made a post at eKarting saying:

the winner was a guy acknowledged as the local karting equivalent to M Shumacher !

every country has a equivalent Shumacher

[JohnKing6]

That is amazing... This Kart may just be for real and here to stay. I'm afraid on how this will impact our karting industry.

The only impact can be good. Karting was supposed to be a cheap form of motor sport for the masses and that's not really true these days. Having cheaper, competitive karts can only be a good thing. Can Europe compete with China? Yes they can - the only thing cheaper in China is labour and the amount of labour involved in building karts is pretty low. They might need to cut down on R&D, sponsorships and the stuff that really burns money but how much does that kind of thing help grassroot racing? - Somewhere between zero and very little.

Did Japan building fantastic cars for a lower price ruin the car industry? No, it improved it a lot - although the badly run car companies (like most of the UK ones) went out of business.

[Mikko Nassi]

namely a Tony Kart axle, rear hubs, front hubs, and rims... so you have to add a bit to the cost to get those bits.

It appears they're making their own mag bits as well, they didn't use a lot of their own parts because they didn't make it in time for the race.

[Roger Ruthhart]

As has been eluded to here already, making a good kart is half the battle. You must have a solid dealer network (ie, no Sodi karts in Asia), good supply chain, reliable shipping and delivery. Some of the European companies, despite their decades of experience, still have issues getting karts to their distributors and dealers in other countries on a regular basis. If you want to buy a kart and it's somewhere on a ship half way between China and (fill in the blank) and will be here in 6 weeks, it doesn't really matter -- you will buy something else.

And how many karts a year can you sell in some smaller countries? Or in US/Canada how do you compete with huge dealer networks already in place by CRG, Birel, Intrepid, Margay, Sodi, First Kart, Tony, etc.? With effective marketing, couldn't the Chinese mfgrs. sell everything they can produce right in China? And while SQ sounds like a solid manufacturer, don't they have a huge hurdle to overcome -- the reputation built by all of the other Chinese factories who have produced crap and/or cheap trinkets for decades?

LOts of questions, I know. Just trying to stir the discussion, which is a good one.

China is a slumbering giant - no doubt. Just starting to awaken. My guess is they have their hands full just trying to market in asiapac, much less trying to compete in Europe, or N&S America. It will be fun to watch and see.

[CRG Asia]

I know of someone that is trying to get dealership for Sq Racing. And it is not going well. Apparently because they won 2nd spot at the last race, they demand all dealers to buy 48 karts as starters. In our asian market, that is simply not wise to invest in a new chassis brand like that.

They have the potential and are making everything. But right now, all they are selling is the karts. The parts and all have to be order and priced through calling him. From what i understand, it is not worth taking up the dealership.

A dealership is more than just about a simple kart sale. We all must make sure the clients remain happy with their product. And SQ racing is good, but sad to say, not THAT good.

[Mikko Nassi]

You must have a solid dealer network (ie, no Sodi karts in Asia), good supply chain, reliable shipping and delivery.

Dead right... the only difference here might be that the target market is a little bit different. If you're a guy that just wants to buy a kart to have fun at the track occasionally you might be prepared to wait a while for a kart at half the price. Remember these guys don't know that they will soon need a reliable supply of parts for their kart, and will only face that problem once their first part breaks - but long after they have paid up for the kart. So it is possible that they can sell a lot of karts to the hobby crowd without proper dealer networks.

And how many karts a year can you sell in some smaller countries? Or in US/Canada how do you compete with huge dealer networks already in place by CRG, Birel, Intrepid, Margay, Sodi, First Kart, Tony, etc.?

huge hurdle to overcome -- the reputation built by all of the other Chinese factories who have produced crap and/or cheap trinkets for decades?

Yup in smaller karting countries like Malaysia you won't be selling many, and you're right a salesperson with any talent should be able to persuade a buyer to pay more for a kart that is in stock with parts availability but at double the price, and "isn't china-made".

China is a slumbering giant - no doubt. Just starting to awaken. My guess is they have their hands full just trying to market in asiapac, much less trying to compete in Europe, or N&S America. It will be fun to watch and see.

Sure will be!

KnK karts from India are also making a bit of an effort to market their racing karts, having already raced the in Asian racing series' for a while now so SQ isn't the only one to watch.

they demand all dealers to buy 48 karts as starters. In our asian market, that is simply not wise to invest in a new chassis brand like that.

In almost any Asian country 48 karts is a massive amount, especially when you have no idea about the durability of the karts. I'd say it is quite a risk to take on a dealership now with a large order and best to sit back and wait for a year to see how things go, the possible rewards for being an early adopter to sell the karts in Asia aren't big enough compared to the risk imo.

[FIRSTKART69]

How you guys doin im a kart from the U.S and i have seen these SQ karts first hand and they dont look very impresive to me . This guy who sells them also races them and hes had to cut,weld beat and bang on these karts to just get them to stay on the track and there way off pace. So i dont know how long they will last or hold up i mean i dont want to sound like a dick but thy are poorly made and i havent seen no ajustabilty on them they seem to be fixed.

[Mikko Nassi]

What do you mean by "fixed"? From pictures it looks like they have torsion bars, and I'm sure toe and track is adjustable. Also they seem to have caster/camber adjustment possible. Doesn't seem very different in adjustability to other karts. Is ride-height fixed?

What parts in particular do you feel are poorly made? Have the frames been cracking?

[TJ Koyen]

I looked at the karts at the KMI show here in the U.S. and I also thought it looked poorly made. The paint was all faded and the welds weren't very clean and didn't look like they'd hold up very long. The components were nice looking but that wouldn't really matter if your kart is falling apart.

[Jules]

I looked at the karts at the KMI show here in the U.S. and I also thought it looked poorly made. The paint was all faded and the welds weren't very clean and didn't look like they'd hold up very long. The components were nice looking but that wouldn't really matter if your kart is falling apart.

Some pictures will do justice here.

In regards to painting of frames - let me share with you that I am aware of a few trick European brands that came UNPAINTED.....and these were apparently hot off their race dept. It ran well, needless to ask.

Anyway - we have not seen any SQ here so wun go bashing anyone without having a first hand look & drive on them.

[RocK]

i used many UNPAINTED chassis in my time. those usually are prototype/unhomologate.

If you dont look after them, it get rusted in a hurry..